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Are you confused about choosing the best shaving brush? You can choose from several elements. For example, size, brush bristle type, and much more. So that you don’t get confused anymore, Groom+Style will provide some recommendations.
History of Shaving Brushes
The shaving brush was invented in the upper classes of Western Europe, most likely in France, between the 17th and 18th centuries. As beards became a symbol of the lower classes, soldiers, and priests, shaving brushes became commonplace. In contrast, a clean-shaven face or a face with a trimmed mustache became the fashion in the nobility.
As a result of this shift, tools and products were created to help nobles achieve a clean-shaven face free of irritation and cuts. The shaving brush was available alongside shaving soaps, creams, and new straight razors. While there were experiments with horse hair brushes and boar bristle brushes, the early gold standard developed was the importance of badger brushes in terms of brushes with natural hair, as with all of the aristocracy’s choices of how the brushes were made.
The Advantages of Shaving Brushes
A shaving brush is more than just a fun, fuzzy-looking tool on display in your bathroom; it serves an important purpose. Shaving your face is essentially a traumatic experience. The shaving brush was created to help with skin sensitivity because facial skin is among the most sensitive on the body.
A shaving brush’s bristles are designed to be both malleable and firm, giving your face a light exfoliation before shaving to allow your pores to open up and prepare for the relative harshness of the razor.
Shaving brushes have numerous benefits, the majority of which are practical, as they improve the wet shaving experience and style. As we mentioned earlier, shaving brushes began as a status symbol and continue to be so today.
8 Best Shaving Brush
1. Fendrihan – B&W Synthetic
Like most new-generation synthetic brush fibers, this shaving brush is exceptionally soft to the point of being difficult to describe. When it’s dry, you can barely feel the white tips if you rub your finger across them. All you’ll feel when loaded with soap is the lather moving around your face.
Softness is no longer an issue with synthetic hair. Some European brush manufacturers have been selling ultra-soft synthetic brushes for some time; sellers of more affordable brushes have sourced comparable fiber and caught up in recent years. What remains to be seen is whether the fibers were too limp to be useful in a shaving brush. Designers and engineers went back to the drawing board to create a new fiber configuration.
2. Sigma Grooming Shaving Brush
Sigma’s brush head is made entirely of badger bristle. A full badger brush for less than $20 is a fantastic deal. The brush appears to be quite simple, which is most likely how Sigma Grooming arrived at this price point.
The handle is acrylic, which feels great in hand but doesn’t look particularly appealing. Nonetheless, the brush as a whole is stunning.
Badger bristles provide the best shaving experience because they are soft and retain water and heat well, allowing you to create a fantastic shaving cream lather.
Badger bristles will also last much longer than synthetics in shape and feel.
3.OneBlade x Thater Silvertip Shave Brush
They collaborated on their shaving brush with H.L. Thater, a renowned family-owned manufacturer that has been handcrafting shave brushes in Nuremberg, Germany, since 1913.
This brush’s large 24mm knot is filled with the highest quality silvertip bristles. These premium hairs are gentle on your skin for a gentle, soothing lather while still having enough backbone to whip up your toughest soaps.
These are held together by a simple olivewood handle that is minimal enough to match OneBlade’s high-end razors like the Genesis while remaining classic sufficient to match your Merkur or Edwin Jagger shaving set.
4. Parker – Pure Badger
Buying a badger brush can often feel like a gamble. Although the natural qualities of the fiber are ideal in many ways, creating a truly great brush necessitates a careful selection of suitable hairs. Cheap badger hair is frequently scratchy, smelly, and set loosely in limp knots that shed every time you shave.
“Pure” badger is frequently the lowest grade available. Still, Parker has defied convention (calling their cheaper bristles “black” badger), and this is unquestionably the “best” grade of hair available for under $50.
The hair’s softness in this brush was once thought to be excellent. Because the hairs have natural tips, the shape of this knot was carefully laid out rather than shaped with clippers. The scale has shifted with the introduction of incredibly soft synthetic brushes, but this is still an excellent brush.
The softness difference between this badger brush and the others we tested is noticeable, especially when swirling and pressing the hairs on your skin while the brush is wet. This is the smoothest natural hair we found within our price range; “Silvertip” hairs will be softer, but at a price that is difficult to justify when the brush is still not as smooth as a much more affordable synthetic.
5. Omega Shaving Brush Boar Bristle Pro 48
Omega Pro 48’s bristles are made of boar hair. While these bristles retain a lot of water for a good lather, they are noticeably stiffer and more rigid than badger hair. Some men see this as a benefit because it means the bristles are firmer and thus do a better job lifting hair while lathering. This is an excellent benefit for men who shave after at least a few days of growth.
The disadvantage of the more rigid bristles is that if you want a softer and more plush feel on your face from a brush, this is probably not the brush for you. You should probably avoid boar hair if you have sensitive skin that is easily irritated.
6. Stout 24mm Shaving Brush
The “Stout” 24mm shaving brush is similar to the other synthetic brushes we tested, but it is specifically designed to excel at lathering shaving soap directly on the face.
Fine Accoutrements started on Etsy as a way for founder Todd Cerami to sell a low-cost version of his favorite aftershave in scents he likes. He’s expanded into various shaving products aimed at frugal-but-hip enthusiasts, and this brush is an excellent example of that business model.
Mr. Fine appears to have based his “Stout” brush on the Simpson “Chubby,” which is popular among those who prefer face lathering. This one is significantly less expensive than a Simpson, and with modern super-soft fibers, it is a better brush.
The bristle quality is excellent, as with most new synthetics. Soft tips with good resistance; the main difference between this brush and the Fendrihan is how the fibers are set in the handle.
These fibers are short and set deep into the handle, giving them a stiffness ideal for loading a hard soap and creating lather on your face. It’s possible that if the hairs were longer, they’d be too floppy, but that’s just speculation. The brush works well in this configuration.
7. Vikings Blade Luxury Synthetic Silvertip Brush
The synthetic bristles on the Vikings Blade shaving brush are unquestionably the most notable feature. The bristles are as soft as those of a silvertip brush.
If you didn’t already know, silvertip badger hair is the most expensive bristle hair on the market. Why? Silvertip brushes are considered the best for two main reasons: 1) They are softer and more comfortable on your face, and 2) they retain more water, allowing for a better lather. However, the Vikings Blade synthetic bristles are similar to silvertips in both areas.
8. The Purest
“The Purest” is not the most affordable synthetic brush we tested, but it should be. That’s not to say it’s the wrong brush. Synthetic fibers are ideal, and this brush will do the trick. On the other hand, Satin Tip hasn’t packed as much into this knot as our top pick: with less density, it’s a little scratchy and disappointingly floppy.
A cheap plastic handle is also a disappointment. The soft-touch coating isn’t bad, but it’s also not particularly good. It looks more like an affordable smartphone accessory than a handcrafted artifact from a bygone era.
Most Frequently Ask Questions
Are shaving brushes worth it?
A shaving brush, like a safety razor, is essential to any man’s shaving routine. Why? It paved the way for personal shaving, provides the highest quality shave, and promotes the philosophy of devoting quality time to your grooming routine and, thus yourself.
Are badgers killed to make shaving brushes?
However, badger’s hair is the most commonly used for shaving brushes. You may be wondering if badgers are killed for shaving brushes. Unfortunately, the answer is yes. In late 2018, PETA released disturbing footage of badger farms in China.
Which is better, badger or boar shaving brush?
Boar brushes hold less water and lather than badger hair brushes, but they also filter out water, which can oversaturate a lather when using badger hair, which is highly absorbent. Because boar hair is coarser than badger hair, it can help exfoliate dry skin before shaving.
Conclusion
These are some of the best shaving brush Groom+Style recommends. They all have their advantages regarding materials, sizes, and prices. So you can adjust to your needs. How have you decided which one you want to try?
